Snow leopards protect themselves using their claws, teeth and camouflage.Blue sheep and ibex are the snow leopards favorite meal. They also eat tiny prey.

Humans are a second reason that snow leopards are endangered. Humans have pushed ever further with their livestock into the snow leopard's habitat. Overgrazing damages the fragile mountain grasslands, leaving less food for the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's main prey.The snow leopard was placed on the endangered species list in 1972 to help protect its dwindling numbers.In doing so, their livestock has taken away habitat animals for snow leopards prey on.July 16, 2012 - Snow leopards, an endangered species with a remaining population roughly estimated to be between 4,000 and 6,500 individuals. Exact numbers are unknown, but there may be as few as 3,920 and probably no more than 6,431.